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"Customers are voting and the iPhone is winning," said Steve Jobs, Apple's CEO. It was the first time he was quoted in a company statement since he went on leave for unspecified medical reasons in January. The company has said that Jobs, who has battled pancreatic cancer, is returning to work at the end of the month.

The launch of the iPhone 3G last year turned messy, as Apple and phone company servers failed to cope with the load of new customers trying to activate their phones. That problem recurred Friday with the launch of the 3G S, but to a smaller extent. Some customers who tried to activate the phone at home got messages that the process could take 48 hours to complete.

The iPhone 3G S has a faster processor and a better camera than the 3G, among other differences. The 3G is still on sale, for $99. The 3G S costs $199 or $299 depending on the memory capacity.